Pain de Mie...bread in a Pullman Pan

So father's day was full of surprises. Mackenzie, Nick and Ben gave me far too much, gift wise. I am forever grateful for their thoughtfulness.  Mackenzie gave me her Canon Rebel camera so my food photos would look better. Ben supplied a 50mm lens and Nick gave me bread pans that I stopped by and examined at a kitchen store, Pryde's  in KC. He found them cheaper on line (thank goodness) and yesterday I tried my had at making sandwich bread.

I eat a lot more bread than I think, trying to balance my carbs against the insulin and other drugs I take to manage my diabetes. I am always looking for something new or old as the case may be. Nick gifted me two of these Pullman Loaf pans and they make a fantastic fresh sandwich loaves.

As you can see it is quite square and uniform in shape and cuts like a dream. The pan is heavy duty, non stick and made in America. with the slide on lid, the loaf  compacts slightly as its is baking adding a denser texture to hold up to fillings. It does not crust up as much as I thought it might so appears a little anemic despite the longer cooking time I gave it to see if it would add additional color. The taste was spot on and texture was fantastic for toasting or just eating. It is 4 inches square so most deli cheeses fit perfectly and will make a lovely grilled cheese. I have a 9 inch and 13 inch pan now and plan to use them frequently if I can instead of paying $2.98 a loaf at the store. I love making bread anyway.  I have not acquired my new camera as of this printing so that's still my iphone camera.

So the recipe came in several versions depending on the size pan you own. I used a King Arthur flour version I found on line easily and had most of the stuff at home already. I did use a bit of butter to grease the pan and lid and it slid out with no effort at all.

Another Bittersweet Weekend....

We just had so much to do this weekend.

Finally we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as Mom's house is concerned. We sold it, thanks to my sister, and are in the final stages of liquidating what remains of the contents. Bittersweet to be sure. I repaired the toilet downstairs (nothing sweet about that), picked over the remains of the stuff destined for the garage sale and repaired the serger for Mackenzie and 2 of my personal machines are back in working order after I thought I might have lost them.

I introduced Mackenzie to my mom's 1950's Singer which still clicks and clacks away and I made many a garment on that machine as did my mom. Now the legacy has passed to Mackenzie who has become an avid hobby sewer and realizes the satisfaction of owning garments no one else can buy. Creating your own style....priceless. 

We went to church several times for a dear friend that passed (Memory Eternal Effie!) and begrudgingly skipped church on Sunday so we could just catch up with our own domestic mess. I am sure the neighbors were glad I waited till 830 before firing up the lawn mower. 

Saturday before the Mercy meal, we stripped the church of the icons we had put up last year as we have to be out of our current location by the 30th of June. Once again nomads on the move, I am not entirely sure the church will survive this time. I am asking the question, internally,  of what went wrong? Why don't we have a church built yet? I am wondering if it is our love of money that affects all things as the innumerable delays since the purchase of property at 180th street snowballed into a need to increase the investment, rezoning and election years. But at what price? While the maneuvering  paid off, it appears it might have cost us the very church we love so dearly.  Too early to say  but not too early to think about it. I feel like I let someone gamble my winnings and the payoff is still years away. Haven't we waited years already?

I feel bad that I did not stand during the meeting and make an impassioned plea to remain independent rather than join another local church, regardless of the cost,  where we are in great danger of losing our identity all together or at least become invisible to the community while we have to pay insane rental prices to them. And for what? A few services is costing us how much? Crazy.

Pickled Avocados....who knew?

Ingredients 1/2  cup white balsamic vinegar 2/3  cup water 1/2 tbsp kosher salt 1 tbsp honey 1/2 tsp peppercorns 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 1 firm ripe, Fresh California Avocado, (quite firm, squeeze the avocado gently in the palm of your hand; you want only the slightest bit of "give") 1 (2-inch) sprig rosemary 1 very thin slice fresh lemon, halved
Process:
Combine the vinegar, water, salt and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and cool completely. Place peppercorns, crushed red pepper and garlic in a pint-size jar. Cut avocado in half, lengthwise. Remove seed and peel, keeping halves intact. Cut into ½-inch wide slices, width wise. Place avocado slices into prepared jar and cover with cooled brine. Tuck rosemary sprig and lemon slice into jar. Cover jar tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. When ready to serve, remove avocados from brine and enjoy.
We made these earlier this week and to my great surprise they are quite good, really good. My brine is quite a bit darker than this photo as I used white balsamic which isn't white at all.  But the flavor is great and savory with the creamy avocado, delicious. This recipe is from the California Avocado Commission,